NOTE: Since this site was created a year after I began the photography for this project, this is more of a recap than a journal entry.
On my first couple of trips to the former steel towns, I tried to do a little bit of everything. I shot a moonrise over the open hearth stacks of the old U.S. Steel Works in Homestead, made some images in Braddock and spent an afternoon at the Carrie Furnaces. Then I started spending more time in the Aliquippa and Ambridge areas, bouncing back and forth across the Ohio river shooting both towns.
Street scenes in Aliquippa (left ) and Ambridge
But after a while, I found myself spending more time in Aliquippa, probably because I was more familiar with it, since that’s where my family is from. It also seemed easier to meet and talk to people in Aliquippa. All I had to do was mention that my mother and father were born there, and I was welcomed as family. Such is the way of small-town America.
LEFT: Herb Bailey (left), ministry director at Uncommon Grounds, attends a National Prayer Day event in the Aliquippa town hall. RIGHT: Jehad "Jerry" Jaber, (left) operates the Plan 12 Market with his brother, Sammy, selling food staples, household goods, tobacco products and food prepared by Sammy to the residents of Plan 12.
About midway through my trips last year, I made an appointment with MaryAnne Golon, the director of photography at The Washington Post, to show her the work and get her opinion. I was not trying to sell her on publishing it as much as I wanted her insight and possibly some guidance. One thing she made clear after looking through the images of the different towns, was that I needed to focus on Aliquippa for the time being. She said it was obvious from looking at the imagery that I understood that town best, and because of my family history there, I was emotionally invested.
LEFT: George "Blackie" Miller in his bar, Mahoney's West, in West Aliquippa, Pa. USA, on May 8, 2015. Miller, who changed his last name from Dokmanovich years ago, was born in West Aliquippa and lived here all of his life. He has seen the town go from boom to bust along with the steel industry. "This town is done," says Miller. RIGHT: Tony Gennaro, 84, stands in his home in West Aliquippa, Pa. on May 8, 2015. Gennaro, a weightlifter who held both national and world titles is also a former steelworker that worked in the blooming mill at the J&L facility in Aliquippa.
She also felt that by completing the Aliquippa portion of the project and getting it published, I would be better positioned to apply for grants and other funding to complete the work in the other steel towns. At that point, she offered to publish the Aliquippa essay on The Washington Post photography blog, In Sight, where it eventually ran as a two-part series. (Part 1, Part 2)
The 90th San Rocco Festa procession makes its way through Sheffield Terrace in Aliquippa. The procession resembles a parade, but it is different as the participants stop at houses along the route to have food and drink. The festival, a three-day religious celebration, is held annually in August honoring St. Rocco, a patron saint of the city of Potenza, Italy where many Italians in Aliquippa can trace their ancestry.
Overall, I made about 5 trips to Aliquippa, meeting more people in the town and photographing everything from a religious festival to a high school football game. I will continue to make stops in the town to look for images and stories to add to the essay. The more time I spend there, the more I learn about people and uncover stories that need to be told.
LEFT: Crossing guard and retired steel worker Frank Cangiano, 85, keeps a watchful eye as children walk along the streets of the McDonald Heights neighborhood of Aliquippa, Pa. on their way to catch the school bus. RIGHT: A student equipment manager watches his team warm up from the locker room of Carl A. Aschman Stadium for the 2015 homecoming game. "The Pit" as it is called is sacred ground and fans still come in droves to watch their beloved school's football team play in a stadium that was built in 1937. Although the city has its share of problems with drugs and violence, a home football game is said to be the safest place in the city as everyone puts their differences aside to support the team.
In addition to the occasional return trips to Aliquippa, I will begin the next phase of the project by visiting and photographing the towns of Duquesne, Clairton and Homestead. I hope to complete most of the photography in these towns in 2016. I have spent much of the winter months researching these communities to determine who and what to photograph, but, of course, everything changes once you are on the ground working. I am excited about meeting the people in these towns and listening to their stories.
